KEENE, N.H. - Graduate student forward Jaheim Young (Brooklyn, N.Y.) tallied a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds to guide the Western Connecticut State University men's basketball team to an upset victory over seventh-ranked Keene State College, 76-73, in a Little East Conference battle on Saturday afternoon at Spaulding Gym.

With the victory, the Wolves avenged a 77-69 loss earlier this season, improving to 20-4 overall and 13-2 in league play, while the nationally-ranked Owls suffered their first conference defeat, dropping to 20-3 and 13-1. It marked just the third loss at home for the Owls over the past two seasons. 

Three other Wolves joined Young in scoring double figures. Juniors Cameron Gallon (York, Pa.) and Keeshawn Jones (Middletown, N.Y.) chipped in with 11 points apiece, while sophomore guard Jaysean Morgan (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) tacked on 10. 

Octavio Brito paced the hosts with a game-high 28 points to go along with 10 rebounds. Jeff Hunter added another double-double with 19 points and a game-high 15 off the glass. 

The visitors connected on 44.8 percent (30-of-67) of their shots from the field while holding the hosts to just a 31.6 percent (24-of-76) clip. The Wolves bench outscored the Owl reserves, 34-8. 

The lead changed hands early in the contest before WestConn raced out to a 19-11 advantage with a 12-0 run midway thru the first half. Shortly thereafter, Hunter muscled in a layup at the buzzer, trimming the Wolves' lead to 39-32 at the break. 

The visitors ballooned the lead to its largest of the game when Jones stroked a trifecta to make it 60-43 with 11:12 left to play. However, the Owls would not go down without a fight. They gradually chipped away at the deficit and would shrink it to 70-67 when Brito drained a free throw with 2:36 remaining. Hunter netted another layup, cutting it to 75-73 with 22 ticks left before Gallon drained a shot from the stripe to make it 76-73 with just four seconds to go. The Owls came out of a timeout and hoisted the equalizer attempt, a long three-point attempt from the top of the key that clanked off the iron as time expired. 

WestConn returns to action to wrap up the regular season slate when they host UMass Dartmouth on Saturday at 3 p.m. The Little East Conference Championship Tournament is slated to begin on Tuesday, February 20.